Davis was in street clothes and had been ruled out of the game with a back injury that sidelined for the previous three games. It's unclear what triggered him to make the obscene gesture as he left the court.

The spectator who originally videoed the incident said in a series of tweets that an older man behind him was upset he had spent money on season tickets and that Davis had been sidelined for a good chunk of the season.

"Long story short the old dude in the stands behind me flipped AD off first because he was upset that he spent so much money on season tickets and all AD has been doing is sitting out, then AD responded," the spectator, identified as Bradley Wehmeyer, posted.

A Pelicans fan account on Instagram posted an alleged exchange between it and Davis that seemed to echo the spectator's account (warning: explicit content).

Pelicans fans have had mixed feelings about Davis ever since he requested to be dealt before the NBA trade deadline. There were talks of him being traded to the Lakers, but L.A. pulled out of negotiations reportedly because New Orleans demanded too much for Davis.

As a result, Davis remained with the Pelicans but likely will be traded during the offseason.

On top of that, Davis has been battling injuries and has played in just 15 of the team's 22 games since he asked to be traded.

While the incident with the fan doesn't appear to be racially motivated - like Russell Westbrook's encounter with a Jazz fan earlier this season - the league has been cracking down on fans verbally abusing players.